TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Elf's Epitaph]

I like the mood and instruments. I think the plucked stringed instrument gets buried under the legato, bowed ones after a while, though. Couldn't hurt to really make sure you can isolate the tones as much as possible in the EQ. I like the sense of climax it has into 1:13, though, and I did enjoy the percussion and how you used it to transition between the various parts of the song. It has a decent amount of dynamic contrast, and, as always, I admire your sense of harmony and direction in structuring the piece. The ending seems fitting, although it does cut off a little suddenly. You do a good job with melodic development, and the chord progression was also rather pleasing. It couldn't have hurt to add some crashes or something when the strings come in at :12 and some other places, though. Otherwise, I think most of the transitions and structural elements were very effective. This is a short, but engaging piece. I like the somewhat Celtic vibe of the first 30 seconds or so, and I applaud your efforts to push yourself and experiment with different genres. Also, good job with moving away from the 4/4 time signature into 3/4, something I should really do more of myself. ;) Great work, Larrynachos! I think the risks you took with this one were worth it! ^^

8.5/10

larrynachos responds:

I accept both your compliments and your criticism! I tried to keep the harp high up in the mix, but it just wasn't agreeing with me. I wasn't quite sure what to put for the ending, but I thought the triangle would be satisfactory. As to the strings at :12, crashes didn't fit. I wanted to keep a calm progression until the epic climax. As to it being short: I wanted to keep it simple. If I were to extend it, I would have just looped the climax and it would have been monotonous.

I'm glad the risk payed off! I really stepped out of my comfort zone of 4/4, but I really wanted to do a waltz. I'm glad you enjoyed the piece! I'm flattered to receive such a generous score, as you pointed out a lot of flaws that could have cost me the contest ^^;

[Break!!]

I really like all the gritty synths and the apprehensive mood. I think the lyrics add quite a lot to the piece, and really help channel the moods and structure. The guitar solo around 1:30 was a nice touch. Structurally, it's very well done, and I applaud you for a smooth-flowing and generally well-mastered piece. The vocals themselves are also pretty good, and I think the ending seemed fitting. Perhaps the beginning was a bit lazy by comparison, though - I've seen the fade-in approach done time and time again. The combination of rock and dubstep is rather creative, though, and I like the concept overall. Now, time to nitpick: I wasn't really impressed with some of your drum samples, namely the kick and snare. I think the intense mood of the piece really could've been maximized if the kick was a bit more prominent, as right now it's a little weak. Also, it's a similar story with the snare. I'd try keeping a few more of those low tones in the EQ, and maybe even layering some more samples. As it is it falls flat a bit. Also, I only noticed that Oriental-sounding instrument in the background during the first half of the guitar solo on the second listen, and I really like it! Overall, it's a very good piece, so I applaud your efforts. Keep up the great work! ;D

9/10

[Death of a Hero]

Okay, I love the contemplative mood in the piano and later in the strings. You transition into :35 beautifully, and it has the vibe of passing time, like a montage in a movie. The combination of moods is very well done: I picked up on apprehensive, wonder, innocence, and even pensive in there! I love how you transition back into the flow-y piano music at 2:18, and I must admit that your mixing and mastering is near-flawless. One thing that bothered me about it a bit was that is was VERY fast-paced at times, and I think you could stand to flesh some of these ideas out a bit more. For example, I love the moment of haunting beauty from 1:38 - 1:59 amidst all the drama, but it was very short-lived. I would've loved to hear a full 45-second breakdown made out of it. While we're on the subject of drama, I think the fast-paced nature of the piece might even take away from the dramatic effect a little. Why not capitalize on your beautifully established apprehensive mood going into 2:16 and have an eruption in drama! Melodramatic is always good in music, IMO. I think you have a good deal of dynamic contrast in here, but I suppose it couldn't have hurt to have a little bit more of a "relief" dynamically between :35 and 2:18. This is a fantastic piece, don't get me wrong, but all things considered, it's rather short. You're doing some great things here, Bassfiddlejones. I'd encourage you to really go for it in the final round (because, tbh, I think you just landed yourself a spot in the final round), because this piece's perks could be even grander! Amazing work, though. I'm very much looking forward to hearing more of your work. ;D

9.25/10

bassfiddlejones responds:

Thank you again for such a detailed review! Sadly, time constraints kept me from elongating the track, but you're right - I originally had planned on lengthening the dramatic parts that you've mentioned. I actually think I'm going to revisit this piece in the future and will likely use some of the critiques you've brought up here!

So glad you enjoyed the piece. I'm planning on going all out in the next round, using a few live instruments in my arsenal!

[You Ran Outta Time]

I like the climactic nature of it and the synths. It progresses a little slowly throughout, however, and I would've liked to see some more melodic and/or structural development. It kind of just oscillates between that higher-pitched martele-sounding synth and the bass-y, staccato synth. You covered dynamic contrast a bit (at 1:50), but overall, the major problem I have with this piece is that it's lacking a lot of necessary variation. I see no problems with the mixing, mastering, and balance, but overall, this was rather lack-luster. The ending was sudden and didn't really add anything to the piece at all, and it was very minimalistic and dry throughout. This doesn't live up to the expectation set by your tryout piece at all, AnalogByNature. The level of creativity is just simply much, much lower. I understand that you were missing a band member until a few hours before the deadline, but I'm afraid I can't take that into consideration when giving you my score. You only have the skeleton of a piece here: the basic structure, bass riffs and beat. It's SERIOUSLY lacking all the pop and p-zazz I expected in this stage of the competition, though, I'm afraid. Hopefully next time you'll have more time to pull out a more stand-out piece. As for now, this is a 6/10 in my book. Don't get me wrong: it's not bad...it's just it's also not very memorable. Sorry.

6/10

AnalogByNature responds:

Hey, no problem!

[i believe]

I like the quirky and sometimes gritty-sounding synths. It's an interesting mixture of beautiful and angry, perhaps encapsulating your emotions? It does progress a little slowly for the first couple of minutes, but it doesn't lack direction, which is good. I loved the melody around 2:30, and you did a great job of harmonizing there. I like the drums too - I think they add something to the piece. The sense of climax into around 3:00 is great! :D I have no complaints about the mixing or anything, and I love how you got glitchy at 4:11. You really effectively changed the pace around 4:30, and I loved how you brought the "tainted beauty" back in the end. The last few notes were very interesting (to say the least), but still effectively concluded the piece in my opinion. Great work, Johnfn! :D You could potentially go very far in this competition (but everyone already knows that). ;D Best of luck, my friend! ^^

johnfn responds:

Thank you for the review! Yeah, a lot of people got on me for dat slow buildup, hmm :| oh well! thanks! glad you liked it.

[Dark Colors]

I love the creepy mood and the melodies. It loops well. The mixing is not up-to-par, though, LSD. That (harp?) really got buried under the pads and melody instruments. You need to EQ everything more and really dedicate those low-pitched tones to the strings alone. Also, I think the melody instrument was a little harsh-sounding at times...not sure if that's what you were going for or not, though........Overall, pretty good job! These pieces are getting shorter and shorter, though. :'(

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

The mixing is not up to par indeed. As I mentioned in the description, I didn't really put any time into this project at all; I simply felt like making something small after such a long break D:
When you say harp, might you be speaking of the guitar with effects that is going on in the background? It gets a bit buried at least, although it's not meant to be the centre of the song. You're right in that I should EQ things more (I barely did at all)!
I feel like the melody is too harsh in the first few seconds, which I noticed. It was getting so late that I didn't care to fix it though (laziness ftw!) XD

If you want a long piece, don't worry. I don't know when I'll upload them, but I have 2-3 (10 minutes +) improvisations that I intend to upload during my time in the army.

Once again, thanks for all the reviews :')